inveterate
Americanadjective
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long established, esp so as to be deep-rooted or ingrained
an inveterate feeling of hostility
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(prenominal) settled or confirmed in a habit or practice, esp a bad one; hardened
an inveterate smoker
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obsolete full of hatred; hostile
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of inveterate
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Latin inveterātus (past participle of inveterāre “to grow old, allow to grow old, preserve”), equivalent to in- in- 2 + veter- (stem of vetus “old”) + -ātus -ate 1; cf. veteran
Explanation
If you're an inveterate doodler, all your notebooks are covered with drawings. If you're an inveterate golf player, you probably get twitchy if you haven't been out on a course in a week. Inveterate comes from the Latin root for “old,” and it describes old habits. In Middle English the word was associated with chronic disease. Now it simply refers to something that is a signature habit with a person. If you’ve loved books ever since you were a toddler, and you regularly check out big stacks from the library, you’re an inveterate reader. And if you're an inveterate nail-biter, nothing can cure you of the habit.
Vocabulary lists containing inveterate
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
And there’s the leering, preening Rupert Mannion from “Ted Lasso” — multimillionaire soccer team owner, inveterate philanderer and incurably vindictive divorcé.
From Salon • Jun. 12, 2026
Duer was also an inveterate speculator and get-rich-quick schemer: “king of the alley,” as Thomas Jefferson derisively referred External link to Wall Street.
From Barron's • Mar. 1, 2026
Still, there is irony in Grantham, the inveterate bear, advancing an argument that could turn out to have bullish implications.
From MarketWatch • Feb. 17, 2026
They peg him as an inveterate showman who is less interested in Russia and China than dioramas of the new White House ballroom or a Triumphal Arch near the Lincoln Memorial.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 24, 2025
He was an inveterate tinkerer and inventor, a lover of gadgetry and mechanical devices, a designer of machines and contraptions of all sorts, a dreamer of big dreams.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
